As it frequently happens, some dig works destined for maintenance and building purposes have lead to the accidental discovery of an ancient village close to Vassili village located in the central Thessaly periphery of Greece, about 170 miles (280 kilometers) north of Athens. While attempting to place a gas pipe, during the excavation activities, the workers came upon a 6,500-year-old village from the Neolithic age.

According to a recent statement issued by the Greek Culture Ministry, the unearthed houses were made of wooden planks and unbaked clay bricks, and contained pottery, stone and bone tools (mainly axes and scrapers), ovens, and some terracotta figurines. The walls were actually built from clay-covered branches held in place by clay roofs and wood posts. The pottery included a large amount of painted vases.

 

"(The imprints) bear testimony to the advanced skills of the people," shared the statement according to the Associated Press, as cited by MSNBC. The village was destroyed by fire, but that is not entirely such an unfortunate event, archaeologically speaking, since it allowed for a better preservation of the village, by hardening the clay bricks and pottery, as well as maintaining the wooden imprints. Experts hope to get hold of valid samples of preserved organic remains (pollen or seeds) in order to determine the environmental conditions of the region during ancient times.

 

It was obviously a fertile area which drew the first Greek farmers, as indicated by similar discoveries made in the region of Thessaly. Over four millennia later, the small hill covering the ruins of the ancient village was used for low-scale burial purposes, as indicated by the excavation of 15 graves belonging to the first few centuries BC. Still, this seems to be the oldest village of this type found at the location, followed by a 6,000-year-old ruined Neolithic farmhouse unearthed in northern Greece.